When my MRI reports came in from the imaging center in London, I was stunned. Not me. Not cancer! As the weeks turned into months, I decided that if the reports were true, I would do nothing. If indeed, the reports were true, I would follow in my Aunt Christine’s foot steps and let nature take its course.
There was no way that I would want to suffer the ravages of radiation and chemo. I had watched too many folks in my own family go through it and lose the battle.
The written report said there were masses on my lungs, liver and kidneys. I was shocked — for most of my life I had been relatively healthy, except for light asthma and mild arthritis.
I first went for a check-up because I had lifted a piece of heavy furniture and thought I had a hernia. The CT-scan showed something suspicious on my liver, kidney and lungs; the doctor ordered an MRI. Then another... and another.
The reports indicated that the masses looked like they were malignant and had metastasized from another area. The “mass” on my liver was the larger of the masses. There were two of them in my left kidney and several in both lungs, according to the MRI reports.
From November until the following May, I endured a series of tests that caused many sleepless nights. I went from one specialist to another and had talked to Merlene Davis who has shared her bout with lung cancer with her Lexington Herald-Leader readers. She assured me that the surgery was not such a bad thing and she was doing fine.
When I went to the cancer specialist, he showed me a diagram of the surgery he planned to perform on my left kidney.
“I can remove the whole kidney or I can take only one-third of it,” he said as he drew another diagram.
I said, “No, I’d rather get a second opinion.”
The weeks turned into six months, and I made my final plans. But I was feeling fine. I was ready to tell this world “goodbye.”
The lung specialist gave me hope after several tests and finally said, “Your lungs are strong and it looks like you have scars from pneumonia and histoplasmosis.” He said, “If it were cancer, you would be showing symptoms by now.”
I didn’t remember having histo but it sounded good to me — just think of the alternative. I asked, “Exactly what is histoplasmosis?”
He said, “It is a disease that is prevalent in the central and eastern United States and 80 percent of people living here may test positive for the fungus.” After I looked it up on the Internet, I learned that it is a fungus driven on the wind from the dust of bird droppings (pigeons, bats, parrots, parakeets and the like..)
Many people have no symptoms at all unless it becomes disseminated histoplasmosis, affecting other organs. Others have symptoms that mimmick a cold or flu. It usually takes care of itself... but has the possibility of becoming life-threatening.
As it turns out, the mass on my liver is a large hemangioma, which is similar to a large, red birthmark you may have seen on someone’s face. The masses on my kidney are tiny kidney stones of no consequence. And thankfully, the masses on my lungs are scars from histoplasmosis that, according to the doctor, probably happened 40 years ago.
I never thought I’d be thankful for histoplasmosis.
Shirley Caudill of London is a former newspaper editor/publisher and longtime freelance columnist. She is a Nashville native who has lived in Kentucky 40 years. She has six children, 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren and is married to a retired Army First Sergeant. She can be reached at shirleycaudill@windstream.net
Editorials
Related Photos
Discussion
False positives
- Editorials
-
-
Presidential presumptions
Well, the primary election is complete. Now’s the time to plan for the November general election.
-
Autism and my grandson’s first swim
My 11-year-old grandson took his first trip off the diving board last week. Two weeks previously, he couldn’t swim at all.
-
Do not stand around; get involved today
The publishing of the news, blogging of stories, posting of videos and the use of today’s communication tools has really changed the landscape of our world. Thirty years ago, television as we know it did not even exist. The real means of communication was radio.
-
Broken-home Bob becomes top dog
In the span of a few days, Broken-home Bob went from sharing a home with three other dogs to romping on a farm in Hazel Green, eating steak off the grill and becoming top dog in a new family.
-
There could be more at stake than a congressional seat
If Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes’ calculations are correct, a small number of voters in northern Kentucky could have a big impact Tuesday on the future of the Republican Party of Kentucky. Based on past elections and absentee ballots, Grimes suggests only about 12 percent of voters may turn out.
-
Some barbershop wisdom for government regulators
The randomness of occupational licensing regulations in Kentucky, especially for jobs often filled by lower-income citizens, has specific – and unfortunate – consequences. -
A summer of parks and history
Well, it’s the middle of May, and it seems that we’ve had spring and summer already.
-
David Mitchell was Lynn Camp football
It’s going to be weird not seeing David Mitchell pace up and down the Lynn Camp Wildcat sidelines during the fall.
-
Opportunity is yours
Opportunity is something that you hear a lot about today. Politicians like to talk about opportunity and there is no shortage of thoughts from the presidential camps on this topic.
-
Hope for lost land and lives
“Gullies so big you could bury a horse,” are words I heard as a child raised in hillside farming country.
- More Editorials Headlines
-
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
